That summer glow

The Glo Bar offers tanning and skin therapy solutions

May 9, 2011

The lack of sun this spring has been a problem for those wanting a nice tan before they hit the beach. A new business in Minot can not only help with pale skin, but damaged skin and a whole lot more.

The Glo Bar, owned by Darcie Boltz, can be found inside DK Salon & Spa, 3108 S. Broadway. Boltz previously lived in Scottsdale, Ariz., and moved to Minot eight months ago, bringing with her a wealth of experience and technology in the field of skin therapy. Boltz can be contacted at 602-999-1714 or 852-3754. She typically works 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, but is more than willing to work with the schedules of her customers. She will also work on Saturdays by appointment.

"I do a number of things. I'm a master aesthetician, aesthetician being a skin specialist. I offer a number of services - anything from facials to chemical peels to spray tan," Boltz said. "And my newest baby is the IPL, which is the light therapy, the intense pulsating light."

Boltz said she her business, which opened this past September, is the only one in town that offers in-house IPL treatments. Let There Be Light, a business owned by Deb Stafslien that's also located in DK Salon & Spa, sells hand-held IPL units meant for home use, but they are only half as powerful as the one Boltz uses.

"Her hand-held units that you can take home, they're 600 nanometers of light. My system here, my treatment that I do on people, is 1,200 nanometers of light, and it's pulsating," Boltz said. "So when it's pulsating into the skin it goes that much further into the cells. What the light therapy does is it speeds up your cell turnover so that your skin's always constantly turning over so it's getting rid of the old and coming out with the new."

IPL treatments are good for a variety of conditions, including age spots, redness, scars and minor sun damage, Boltz said she treats men as well as women, and the treatment works equally well on either gender.

While treating skin conditions is one of the uses for light therapy, Boltz said she has mostly been using it for the permanent removal of hair, typically in the face, lip and chin areas.

To begin the treatment Boltz waxes the area to remove the hair follicles from the hair shafts. It's then time to use the light to make sure the hair doesn't return.

"I do this light therapy on them, and the light pulsates into the hair shaft and zaps the hair follicle so it won't come back," Boltz said.

"With this treatment you would come see me every three weeks for about six to eight weeks," she added.

Each session is 15 minutes and costs $40. Boltz said in a larger city a single session can go for anywhere from $300 to $500.

Along with the light therapy, Boltz has a wealth of other products to make customers look and feel their best, including her popular spray tan. She realizes there's a certain stigma associated with tanning creams or liquids, and it's usually the first thing new customers ask about.

"Spray tan is all natural, and I won't turn you orange," she said with a laugh. "And that's a huge thing here in Minot."

A spray tan session is about 20 minutes long, and the tan lasts from 7 to 10 days. Boltz uses a portable tent the customer stands in while she sprays on the tan, and said she can even take the tent on the road and apply the tan in a person's home.

In addition to facial services such as chemical peels, facial steaming and skin resurfacing, Boltz also uses a microcurrent device that electrically stimulates the facial muscles to provide a face lift of sorts.

"The microcurrent stimulates the muscles and wakes them up, and reminds them of where they once were or should be," Boltz said. "And it actually does pick up and lift the face. And I do that in all of my deluxe facials."

Boltz also cleanses, exfoliates, steams, and does extractions in her deluxe facials, which last around an hour and cost $70.

Like many people new to North Dakota, it was the economy that brought Boltz here. Although her family was originally from the Bottineau area and she grew up there during the summers, she had moved to Arizona and was making a good living at a spa until the recession hit her hard about two years ago.

"I lost everything. I lost my home, I lost my job, I lost my savings because of all that, trying to save all that," Boltz said.

She went to see her family during the summer last year and said she was a wreck because of all that had happened. They suggested she move to Minot for a fresh start. After thinking it over, Boltz took a chance and did just that. She met with Lori Burbach, owner of DK Salon & Spa, about renting space for her new business and said she just fell in love with the salon's atmosphere.

"It was a wonderful atmosphere. I walked in and just right away it was so inviting. I just knew, my heart told me this is where you need to be. Start a new business, start over," Boltz said. "And that's what I've been doing and I'm loving every minute of it."

"I'm very passionate about what I do. I love what I do," she added. "I just want to make people feel good and look good."